Battle of the Heroes- Chapter One: Point of Divergence
by thevowellster
Summary: The first major step in the story of Izuku Midoriya from Hero to Villain. After a relaxing day moving into the dorms, Asui wants to talk with Deku and company about their decisions.


Chapter One: Point of Divergence

_Eight years before Izuku's fall..._

"Hey guys," Ochaco said, "can you come outside for a second? It's really important.

"Sure," Izuku said. "What is it?" They were all still excited from the room competition, even if none of them had actually been in the running to win. No one had to say it out loud, the real reason they'd enjoyed the game. It had allowed them to pretend they were still kids. To go back in time and pretend that the last week had only been a nightmare. Because in the light of day, when All Might showed up in his weakened state, they couldn't pretend anymore.

"It's Tsu," Ochaco said, "she wants to talk with all of you." Izuku couldn't help but notice how suddenly she'd switched from the enthusiasm during the room challenge to how downcast Ochaco was now.

"Let's go," Kirishima said, "what happened to her earlier? I didn't see her during the competition, I just kind of assumed she went to bed like Bakugo had."

They could all see the Rainy Season hero outside in a pool of yellow light that streamed out from the dormitory window. She stood there with her larger hands held up. "Hi Asui," Izuku said, "I mean Tsu. Is everything okay?"

"No," she started. Tears began to roll down her face. "You guys know I'm pretty straightforward, and always speak what's on my mind. Remember what I said, back at the hospital? That going after Bakugo would break the rules, and you'd be the same as villains. Tsu took a long breath and her whole body shuddered as it was wracked with a new wave of tears. "Despite my warning you still went out and saved Bakugo with no plan. You were ready to break the law, to become villains yourselves! But luckily, everything worked out and you were all able to come back to us. I'm so sorry, I just don't want you to hate me, I want things to go back to how they were!"

"Oh Tsu," Yaoyorozu said, "I'm so sorry!"

"Yeah," both Iida and Kirishima said, "we didn't want to make you feel this way."

Izuku started to open his mouth, but nothing came out. He couldn't. His fist clenched. "No." It was little more than a whisper, but somehow it stopped everyone. They all paused and looked at him, mouths wide. "No, just because we used our quirks it doesn't make us like villains."

"But Izuku," Asui started, "using our quirks to hurt people without a license is against the law!" Fresh tears started up on her face.

"We didn't go out to hurt innocent people," Izuku said, "we went to save someone!" The glares he received her ice, even from Todoroki, who he had felt would be the most on his side.

"Izuku," Todoroki said, "we didn't use our _powers_ because Iida said he would stop you, stop us. You know had he not been there we would have joined the fight in an instant to help All Might."

"And maybe if we had…" Izuku had to take a deep breath to steady himself. "If we had gone out and used our abilities All Might would still have his power! He took several huge attacks with no guard while _I _came up with a plan. Kacchan could have died at any point, he was fighting villains by himself that pro-heroes struggled against."

"Izuku," Iida said, "I couldn't let you fall victim to the same trap that I did. The trap that you and Todoroki pulled _me_ out of." He held up his injured arm, scars still a violent red.

"What trap," Ochaco asked.

"Izuku and Todoroki rescued me," Iida said, "when I went to try and avenge my brother."

"The Hero Killer," Yaoyorozo said. "You three were there when Endeavor stopped him?"

"Ah man!" Kirishima sighed, "that would have been incredible to see."

"We used our power to save you too then Iida," Izuku said. "Even now you still don't understand! I didn't go into that alleyway for revenge or fame like you did. I went to help people. Todoroki understood and that's why he's been at my side both times. Kirishima went this time to rescue his friend, not to get revenge on the people that took him. But the only reason _you_ went was to keep us from using our quirks. All this time, looking up to your brother and in the hero course and you haven't figured out what being a hero _actually_ means." Izuku shook his head and walked away. Ochaco raised her hand as if she meant to stop him, but didn't say anything. They were all quiet as he walked up the steps and went inside.

In his room Izuku tossed and turned. The clock read 2:45. If he wanted to be awake for classes in the morning he needed sleep. But it just wouldn't come. With a groan he sat up and kicked his feet over the edge. There wasn't a lot for him to do this early, but he'd discovered a weight room on the first floor of the basement this morning during the competition. Might as well break it in. He threw on shorts and a shirt. There were snores from the rest of the rooms on his floor as he descended.

The light's of the weight room blinded Izuku as he flipped the lights on. Whenever he worked out at home he'd just use dumb bells and curl, but now he was almost lost in the many options they provided here. Bench press! It was something he could never really do at home so now would be as good a time as any. He put some weights on the bar and secured them so they couldn't accidentally wiggle off. It looked good, Shoji had put up nearly as much weight when they'd first started, so Izuku wasn't worried.

He laid down and put his hands on the bar and felt the cool metal, the faint abrasiveness of the handholds. A deep breath brought the massive weight off the rack-and onto his chest! Only a gasp escaped as his arms struggled to push the weight off. He couldn't move it! "Help," he tried to squeak out. Was this how he would die? Not by a villain but an overestimation of how strong he was!? His legs kicked in a futile effort.

The door to the room opened. "I wondered who would be up so early in here. Of course it would be you Midoriya," It was Aizawa. A trickle of blood slid down the side of his head and his clothes were matted and frayed. One of his eyes appeared to be swollen from where he'd taken a punch. Had he been out on hero duty? Their teacher was always tired from class but the class just assumed he had adopted the "aloof master" method of teaching. But no, he was so tired from hero work during the night! Izuku hated himself a little, even as the air was squeezed out of his lungs, he still couldn't stop himself from analyzing a situation.

"Put too much weight on?" All the teacher got as an answer was air. "Maybe you should take this as a lesson to always have a spotter." Izuku struggled more under the weight as he could see the tinges of darkness at the corners of his vision. "You're still turning your quirk on and off. You know the rest of us always have our quirk active? We don't have to think about it because it's always there. So, why isn't your quirk active?!"

Izuku's eyes widened. Why _wasn't _he using One for All constantly? After all, All Might used his power all the time when he did hero work, not just when he needed it. Izuku focused, he felt power course through and suffuse him. Five percent should be enough to get the weight off his chest. Sure enough, he felt it become light and he was able to push the weight all the way up and rack it. He let out a sigh and released his hold on One for All.

"No!" Aizawa stared at him, "I said to have your quirk active _all the time_. Your power won't grow if you never train it."

"But I can't use Al-" Izuku stopped, "my quirk without it destroying my body. I have to get stronger if I want to be able to channel more of it."

"You train your body so it's strong enough, yes," Aizawa said and stood up, "but if you channel your quirk _while _exercising your body, both should get stronger."

"Exercise my body," Izuku was stunned, "_and_ my quirk?"

"You haven't noticed that your body has gotten stronger since you began to develop your shoot style," Aizawa asked him.

Izuku's eyes widened, "You're right!" The young man laid back, closed his eyes then picked up the weight as though it were a feather. Several reps and he stopped, "Mr. Aizawa, if I channel only as much of my quirk as I can handle and lift more weight, it should hurt my body right?"

Aizawa's smile widened, "Now you're thinking."

"Thank you Mr. Aizawa!" The young man was a blur as he stacked more and more weight onto the bench.

This kid! Aizawa left without a sound.


End file.
